Land Rover Defender is still a good investment.

Barbara Craythorn

IT is now over a year since the Land Rover Defender went out of production but forecasts then that the iconic vehicle would be a good investment have turned out to be correct and prices are holding up well and should continue to do so in the future.

I have just confirmed this situation after receiving an email from a British woman working in Salzburg, Austria, who had read on the internet a review I had written last year about the Defender being a good investment because it was such a popular vehicle especially with real off-road enthusiasts.

The Defender admirer who is planning to buy one wanted to know if the Defender was still a good investment a year after production ceased before she committed herself to buying one.

In my original review I quoted an official from CAP the leading Yorkshire based automotive valuation specialists who said that prices of Defender and the Series 1, 2 and 3 models which preceded the name change in 1990 after starting production in 1948 would hold up well in the future.

Indeed after receiving the message from Salzburg I contacted my motoring colleague Martin Ward who is manufacturer relationship manager at CAP about the latest situation regarding the Defender so I could inform the Landy lady in Austria.

Martin confirmed that Defenders were still a good investment if bought right at the right price/model/spec etc and that their prices should hold up well in the future which is good news for current owners and those proposing to buy one.

The Defender is not a favourite 4x4 with some Land Rover owners who prefer the more modern and sophisticated models but to many including myself they are the ultimate off-roader and the best 4x4 in the world. Indeed a female motoring colleague was so besotted with the Defender and the earlier Series models that she bought three that needed plenty of tlc to restore to make sure she had them in her ownership.

I was fortunate to be able to road test one of the last Defenders before production ceased and I was able to appreciate just why they are still so sought after so long after the last one rolled off the production line.

Some people think they are rather crude and old fashioned but that is all part of their appeal because there is nothing quite like them now especially as Land Rover seem to be currently producing some new models that all look very similar and have lost their individual styling and character like the Defender.

Because interest in the Defender is still very strong over a year after the last one was produced prices are holding up extremely well especially abroad and in Austria in particular where the potential Defender owner told me that good specimens are very expensive and that she is looking at the prices of the vehicle in other countries on the Continent and UK.

The Defender and those earlier models of which over two million were produced are also part of UK automobile history for the Queen and Winston Churchill are among the previous owners which just adds to their overall appeal and makes this such a coveted vehicle.

FACT FILE - Model: Land Rover Defender and earlier Series models. First produced: 1948. Original cost: £450. Total production: Over two million with many still on or off road. Current values: Holding up very well.